


O, Christmas Tree

by NamelesslyNightlock, Rabentochter



Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorkable, Avengers Family, Banter, Bickering, Boys In Love, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, Competition, Domestic Avengers, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Happy, Happy Ending, Humor, Implied/Referenced Sex, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Teasing, Tony Stark Does What He Wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21936769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: When Tony paints his suit red and green to symbolise his feelings for Loki… not all of the Avengers agree that it was a particularly clever fashion choice.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1388356
Comments: 31
Kudos: 260





	O, Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that we came up with a while ago, and it's finally the season! We hope you enjoy it!  
>   
> Thank you to **SalamanderInk** for helping with Batroc's dialogue.  
>   
> Art by **Rabentochter** , fic by **NamelesslyNightlock**.

To be honest, Tony thought that the laughter was a little undeserved.

Because, look. He hadn’t really considered—

When trying to do something that would make his boyfriend happy—

Well, the whole _Christmas_ thing just. It just wasn’t right at the forefront of Tony’s mind, okay?

He and Loki had already kind of decided they weren’t going to get each other anything for Christmas– since they could both have anything they wanted at a drop of a hat, and the moment one of them expressed an interest in something the other could get for them it was often retrieved or invented within the space of a day. And, yeah, Tony did get the whole _it’s the thought that counts_ thing– he was a serial gift giver for a _reason_ , you know. That was why, instead, he and Loki had kind of a silent agreement to _do_ something for the other, instead of getting a present.

In and of itself, that probably wouldn’t have caused any problems. Plenty of people manage those sorts of arrangements around Christmas, right?

Of course, none of those people could possibly have Tony and Loki’s sense of competition. Everything was always a challenge between them, it was one of the things that had Tony falling in love with Loki so very quickly—

And it also had him _sure_ that he needed to do something spectacular, something that would make Loki go weak at the knees – a feat which was certainly not easy – and yet would seem small enough to an outsider that it still fit the parameters of their… ah, agreement.

He spent a while thinking on it, going through the things he knew that Loki loved. And when he had his idea, well– it was good enough that there was a grin pulling along his own lips.

Because, if Tony had to pick one thing he could do that would make Loki _happy…_ well, really, there wasn’t even a question.

Whenever Tony wanted to rile Loki up in the best kind of way, all he had to do was slip on one of Loki’s shirts, and those green eyes would be tracing every move he made with an expression of aching want– and it would never be long before Tony found himself pressed into a mattress. Just a green tie at a gala made _certain_ that Loki would stay pressed against him all night, and the one time Tony had been caught trying out Loki’s cape resulted in him being unable to sit down comfortably for _days._

So, yeah, it was pretty clear that Loki _liked_ it when Tony wore his colours, even without the explanation Tony had been granted about that sort of thing being a declaration of eternal devotion or, something along those lines.

And that made it obvious, didn’t it?

Tony would just have to paint parts of his Iron Man armour green.

Oh, not the whole thing– he wasn’t going to take it that far. Just a bit down the arms, and along the back of the legs. The red and the gold were pretty iconic at this point, after all, and besides, the gold was kind of Loki’s as well anyway.

Nah. It would almost be more poignant, in a way, to only paint parts of it. He wasn’t taking Loki’s colour for his own, he was… entwining the two of them together, mixing the green _with_ the red in a kind of symbol for what they meant to each other.

And, yes. _Yes,_ Tony knew that sounded mushy. But he was enough in love that he was long past caring about _mushy_ , and what did it matter what people thought when _Loki_ really had _loved_ it. The moment he’d seen what Tony had done to the suit, his eyes flicking from one piece of green to the next, the smile that he’d worn on his lips was only outshone by the toe-curling kiss he’d bestowed upon Tony’s.

So, Tony was actually feeling pretty _proud_ of his new suit. So of _course_ he’d worn it when some run of the mill villain decided Christmas Day was the moment to try his hand at taking over New York– did he think the Avengers ran on the same holiday schedule as the rest of the world and had taken the day off? Well, if he did, then he was far more optimistic than Tony.

Tony and Loki arrived on the scene a little later than the others due to a, uh, distraction once Tony had put on the suit, and the fight was already in full swing—

But the moment the pair of them appeared in Loki’s shimmer of green seiðr – which he _could_ mask if he needed for stealth, but Loki was just dramatic like that and enjoyed making an entrance – every battling person seemed to just… fall into silence.

It wasn’t as sudden as someone pressing pause on a movie, but it was fast enough that it was very, _very_ noticeable, a quiet that poured down over what had only moments before been a clamouring… well, not _battle_ exactly, more of an… exotic dance, what with Batroc the Leaper bouncing around everywhere and the Avengers, who were truth be told far more than a match for Batroc on paper running around in circles as they struggled to keep up. There were a few scorched walls about, probably Thor’s work, and Batroc was sporting a smudge of soot that was likely from one of Clint’s explosive arrows. But even though the distraction gave Batroc the chance to run, _and_ the Avengers the chance to catch him—

“Tu t'es mis aux couleurs de Noël!” Batroc near on _howled_ out, his expression splitting into a grin as his eyes coloured with tears of amusement.

“Tony,” Clint gasped, practically freaking _cackling_. “You look like a fucking _Christmas tree_.”

Tony glanced down at his suit, his brow immediately furrowing. “I do _not—”_

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Natasha said, the only one apart from Thor – who was just looking a little confused, the poor guy – who was not completely losing it. Even _Steve_ was practically bent over double. “But you kind of do.”

Tony looked to Loki – who was pressing his fist to his mouth, the fucking _traitor_ – and then to Thor, who Tony decided, even though he really did look as confused as an owl in a swimming contest, was totally on his side by virtue of being the only one not fully getting what was going on.

“Thor, buddy, come on. You see what I’ve done, right?”

“It is… interesting,” Thor said, “The way that you have blended Loki’s colours with your own.”

“Ah _ha,”_ Tony exclaimed, turning back to Clint and crossing his arms over his chest in triumph. “You see? Not Christmas.”

There was about, a _split_ second where everyone was quiet, where Tony thought he might have won—

He should have known better.

For the moment that split second was up, Clint let out a _roar_ of laughter matched only by the sudden burst of French-accented giggles.

“All you need is some lights,” Clint gasped, one hand pressed to his chest as if he was struggling to breathe. _Drama queen_.

“Et des guirlandes aussi,” Batroc crowed—

Only to be struck in the side by a blast of lightning. At least _someone_ was still on their A game.

Tony waited for the laughter to stop with his arms still crossed and his back straight, but it just kept on fucking going. Batroc even started singing a song as Thor manacled his wrists behind his back.

“Petit papa Noël, quand tu descendras du ciel, avec- tes jouets par milliers....”

_Asshole._

Loki, at least, had managed to stop laughing– for that, Tony was grateful. He’d done this _for_ Loki, after all—

And he was rewarded when Loki stepped up behind him, his arms going around Tony’s metal-cased waist and his breath whispering over Tony’s cheek.

“I love the way you look in my colours,” Loki murmured, the low tenor of his voice sending a shiver down Tony’s spine. “And when we get back to our bed, I will show you exactly how _much_ , in so many different ways. What does it matter what they think?”

Huh.

Actually…

Loki was right.

“Fine, you know what?” Tony said loudly. “So I look like a _fucking_ Christmas tree. Clearly, this is distracting you all, so if you don’t mind my boyfriend and I are just going to go back to the fucking tower and _fuck_ on the couch.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his gaze from the pathetic scene of laughing lunatics before him, turning in Loki’s arms and looping his own over Loki’s shoulders. “What do _you_ say, Lokes?”

“I say that sounds like a grand idea,” Loki replied, leaning down to brush his lips against Tony’s in a lazy kind of kiss.

“No,” Clint started, “ _Wait_ a second—”

But they didn’t even hear the end of the sentence, because they were already gone.

—🎄—

The feel of Loki’s body against his own was a sensation that Tony would never tire of. Loki’s hand stroking his thigh, the feel of lips on his skin, hot liquid running down his throat and warming him from the inside out—

It was complete and utter _bliss_ , and Tony could have stayed in that moment forever– if they hadn’t been interrupted by loud voices as the elevator doors slid open.

“Clint, this is a bad idea,” Steve was saying. “Maybe we should wait—”

“There’s no waiting!” Clint exclaimed. “They might already be defiling—” He cut himself off as they came around the corner—

And Tony arched a brow as they stared. There were only three of them– it would seem that Natasha and Thor had stayed back to take Batroc into custody.

“Guys, please tell me… you… Tony.” Clint’s eyes flicked between where Tony and Loki were cuddled together on the couch with a blanket and mugs of hot chocolate, and the flashing, ah, _Christmas tree_ in the corner. “Tony, you _didn’t.”_

Tony shrugged, only managing to hold on to his poker face through the decades he had of practice. Loki took a sip of his hot chocolate, and under the blanket, his hand tightened on Tony’s thigh in a way that let Tony know Loki, too, was once again trying not to laugh.

“You did say that it looked the part,” Tony said.

Clint let out a whine.

“I like it,” said Bruce, tilting his head as he ran his eyes over the Iron Man armour which had inexplicably taken their old tree’s place. “It’s very…”

In Tony’s opinion, the suit looked far better than the tree had, and it certainly made far less of a mess. No pine needles could fall from Iron Man, after all. The colourful lights reflected over the suit in a rainbow shine, complementing the glow of the reactor and glimmering over the new paint job. Red, green, gold– _their_ colours, first and foremost.

“It is _perfect,”_ Loki said, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument.

And it didn’t matter that Clint looked like they’d torn down his world– it didn’t matter that Bruce was grinning widely as he patted Clint on the back. It didn’t matter that Steve was looking _fond_ , or that Thor and Natasha both grinned when they came in to see what Tony and Loki had done. It didn’t _matter,_ because all that _did_ was the soft way that Loki kissed him, and the adoration that entered his gaze every time it landed on their unconventional Christmas ‘tree.’

**Author's Note:**

> _Even when Loki took him to another planet that evening for Tony’s Christmas ‘present’ and near on blew Tony’s paint job out of the water, Tony still thought that his idea had been more than worth it._   
>    
>  _Well… maybe. He didn’t like to lose a challenge, but… that just meant that he’d have to up the ante next year, right?_   
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> You can find the art for this fic on tumblr [here](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/189846196164/o-christmas-tree-a-christmas-collab-with).  
>   
> And we hope that you all have a happy holidays!! 🎉


End file.
